


Muses of a Madwoman

by SinPiedad



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-12-07
Packaged: 2017-12-23 20:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinPiedad/pseuds/SinPiedad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sakura wakes up to find a bloodied ANBU in her private sanctuary only days after graduating, she has no idea what she's getting into. But as she's drawn deeper into the darkest parts of her village, she finds the strength to protect it. By any means necessary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Escape

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the group Muse whose song names I used for the titles and excerpts...
> 
>  
> 
> Why can't you just love her?  
> Why be such a monster?

Haruno Sakura grinned confidently as she finished applying her strawberry pink lip-gloss and pressed her lips together to spread it out evenly. She had just used the last of her birthday money to buy herself a black mini-skirt which, despite not being practical, made her legs look fantastic. She was still wearing standard-issue sandals, but they went well with her outfit so she still looked amazing. A deep red shirt completed her outfit. She had fallen in love with the way the silky fabric fluttered whenever she moved and had bought it a little over a month ago, even though she didn't have any reason to wear it. Thankfully, her mother hadn't found out exactly how much of her saved up money she had used to buy it. She could just imagine the scolding she'd get if her mother, Haruno Mebuki, found out.

  


First: anger. "DO YOU KNOW THE SACRIFICES WE'VE MADE JUST TO PAY FOR YOUR SUPPLIES?! THAT MONEY WAS SUPPOSED TO LAST UNTIL NEW YEARS AND YOU'VE SPENT IT ALREADY!" Here, Sakura would shuffle her feet and stare at the floor contritely.

Then Mebuki would sigh in exasperation. "Next time, just ask me or your father if we have enough money instead of using your own allowance."

Finally, after a few more minutes in that vein, she would begin winding down: "I understand that a young girl wants to look beautiful." Smiling, and touching Sakura's cheek she would continue, "When I was your age and I joined our family on the caravan, the only reason I didn't spend all my money on dresses and make up is because I was expected to pay my own expenses on the trip." It was here that she would mention, rather nonchalantly, "Of course, if you were to join your grandfather's caravan, you know your father and I would pay for every cent..."

If Sakura remained staring at the floorboards in silence during the scolding, which she inevitably did, her mother would finally get to the point.

Mebuki would give a heartfelt sigh before wrapping her arms around her only daughter and whispering into her hair. "Why don't you end this silly rebellion and let me contact your grandfather? Your cousins have started their tours already but everyone knows you would catch up quickly."

Sakura would remain unmoved and Mebuki would utter the phrase that always signaled the end of it. "You know we just want what's best for you."

If Sakura was lucky, and managed to stay silent, she would only be forced to do all the usual chores by herself for a week or so. On the other hand, if she lost control of her temper then she'd be grounded and all of her books and makeup taken away for two weeks.

  


As such, it was in her best interests to just go to one of the stores where they sold ready-made clothes instead of the family tailor so her mother wouldn't find out. Thankfully, stitching on the Haruno clan symbol by herself had been surprisingly easy though a little voice in the back of her head wondered if it would be easier to just join the caravan.

But Sakura banished the thought and finally feeling ready to face Sasuke, she added the finishing touches to the outfit of a lifetime. _This time, he'll fall beneath **our** charm! **SHANARRO!** _ With the experience borne from a lifetime of practice, Sakura ignored Inner as she straightened her clothes one last time, attached an expensive new kunai pouch to her leg, made sure her hitai-ate adorned her soft pink hair cutely and blew a kiss at her image in the vanity mirror before running out of the house in order to search for Sasuke. _Now that we're on the same team, he'll definitely go out with me! And...I'll finally tell him I like him._ Sakura couldn't stop a pink tinge from rising to her cheeks at this thought.

She reached the corner of her street before stopping, suddenly realizing, that she had no idea where Sasuke could be.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Squeaking in a way that left her cheeks red from embarrassment, Sakura hurriedly continued forward before the burly man behind her was tempted to do more than just shout at her.

Despite the small problem of having no idea where to look, she ran around for the better part of an hour, until her clothes began sticking to her sweaty back despite the cool Konoha afternoon and she proceeded to drop into a bench with a huff. The bench was hidden near the village wall in a small alcove surrounded by immense trees that provided some blessed shade.

"After all that effort to look extra beautiful, I couldn't even find him," Sakura muttered to herself as an annoyed pout graced her rather average features. She had dashed from street to street and endured the annoyed looks from the people she accidentally bumped into but hadn't caught site of any members of her brand new team. _I can't even find that hard-headed idiot, Naruto, and he practically **stalks** me! _ She heaved a sigh, leaned back against the surprisingly comfortable wooden bench and gazed at the dappled sunlight filtering softly through the deep green leaves that gave her village its name.

For October in Konoha, the weather seemed to be unusually cool, so despite all that running Sakura had done in the name of love, she found herself shivering slightly. _It's still pretty early._ Sakura thought pensively for a moment as she tried to decide where exactly Sasuke would most likely be. _I wonder what Sasuke-kun does during his free time, anyway...I've never been able to get an answer, no matter how many times I ask..._ Admittedly, she had tried to follow him from the academy more than once, along with a gaggle of his other fangirls before he invariably shook them off his trail. On the few times she had managed to gather the courage to ask, he would always ignore her and shoulder past her while she gazed at him, waiting for an answer. A small frown tugged at her lips at this thought.

She shook her head quickly, disturbing her hitai-ate as she quickly became filled with determination. _He'll definitely agree to go out with me! **There's no way he can resist us!** _ Her eyes widened as she suddenly realized where Sasuke would be and, jumping to her feet, smoothing down her slightly wrinkled skirt. _Of course! He'll definitely be training today. The question is...which training grounds?_ Sakura's feet automatically led her to the general direction of the lower training grounds as she bit down on her lower lip, deep in thought. As recent graduates, her class still wasn't allowed on the genin grounds, so he had to be in one of the grounds between 1 and 10. Absently dodging her way through the crowd, she beamed as she finally decided which training grounds Sasuke was most likely occupying. She knew for a fact that Sasuke hates wasting time, so he was most likely in training ground 3, which was right between the Uchiha district and the academy.

Humming quietly, Sakura smiled slightly, straightened her hitai-ate, and made sure everything else was in order as she approached training ground 3 . Glancing towards the sky for confirmation, Sakura calculated that she had at least five hours before she was due back home. _Plenty of time to go on a date, if Sasuke-kun wants to._ By the time she finally reached the training grounds and heard the rhythmic grunts that signaled the presence of someone training, she had already spent several long minutes fantasizing about her perfect date. And since her curfew was by nightfall... _I don't really need a curfew now that I'm a kunoichi, but since Mom and Dad are civilians, they wouldn't understand...Either way, I still have enough time to spend with Sasuke-kun._ She couldn't help but pause for a moment as she visualized what Ino-pig's reaction when she found out Sakura was going on a date with Sasuke. Grinning at this pleasant thought, she finally reached the gate of the training ground.

Thankfully, she had been correct. Sasuke had his back to her as he moved gracefully, practicing a kata Sakura had never seen before. Without meaning to, she started analyzing the differences between the academy-taught kata to what was obviously the Uchiha family style before her attention was caught by the muscles moving smoothly under his navy blue shirt, distorting the Uchiha clan symbol spread across its back. She couldn't help but stare for a long minute before she realized that Sasuke was turning around and quickly straightened herself out.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke sounded more than a little suspicious as he glared at her from his spot at the far edge of the training ground.

"Ah," Sakura hesitated for a second as she tried desperately to remember what she had planned to tell him. Sasuke continued to glare at her as the redness in her cheeks deepened and she fidgeted under his intense dark gaze. Suddenly, as she finally remembered what she had meant to say, the words poured out of her lips in a torrential rush. " I was wondering—now that we're on the same team—that is—if Sasuke-kun isn't busy—I mean—"

Sakura forced herself to stop her babbling and take a deep breath as Sasuke's glare deepened and he moved a little closer to her. It wasn't easy to calm her racing heart, but she persevered as she tried again. "I...I l-like you, Sasuke-kun." Her face was bright red by this point, and she spoke quickly before she lost her nerve. "Do you want to go on a date?"

Sakura couldn't help but bite her lip in breathless anticipation as Sasuke seemed to consider her words. _**Was that the best you could do?! Let me try and he'll be eating out the palm of our hands, SHANNARRO!**_ Sakura did her best to ignore the yelling Inner before realizing that with Inner's ranting she had missed Sasuke's answer!

"Ano...What did you say, Sasuke?" Sakura asked him timidly as Inner continued to shout methods of making Sasuke putty in her hands.

"I asked," Sasuke spat as he advanced on Sakura's position near the entrance of the secluded training grounds. " Why did you become a kunoichi? You are easily the weakest shinobi to ever graduate. Instead of focusing on making yourself stronger, you focus on fashion."

Even as Sakura began tremble, he continued ruthlessly. "Instead of getting a proper teammates, I get stuck with Dead Last and Dead Weight. I'll only tell you this once, don't get in my way." With that said, he gave her a vicious glare before shouldering past her roughly and leaving the training grounds.

Even as she caught her balance, her eyes began to burn. _Is that...really what he thinks of me? Am I...really that weak?_ She shook as tears began to slide down her cheeks before dripping down to her clenched fists. _I always did my best...didn't I?_ Even as she thought that, she remembered countless times when she should have been training, but was watching Sasuke. Countless times when she neglected her training to learn how to wear makeup or to find the perfect outfit. Countless times...

" -LAZY! AND CHOUJI PUT THOSE CHIPS AWAY!"

Gasping, she realized she couldn't let Ino see her like this. Not now. Not after what just happened. Sakura forced herself to move quickly and quietly as Team 10 moved closer to her position.

When she was younger, trying to stalk Sasuke, she had come across a small gap in the walls surrounding the training grounds. As curious as she was, she had immediately investigated it and learned that it led into one of the many unused sewers under Konoha. She had gotten lost, of course, but in the end, had been able to find a way out that led to a small cave a few miles outside of Konoha. Though she knew, intellectually, that she should report this to one of her academy teachers immediately, she kept it a closely guarded secret. It was hers. Only hers. Whenever she needed to find peace or just to escape from the stress of her everyday life, she'd go to her cave...And at this moment, she definitely needed to escape.

She had stopped using the passage as she grew older and felt less of a need for a peaceful spot but... _I forgot how small it is._ Sakura winced as the opening scraped her new shirt. Unfortunately, she had almost grown too large to fit into the tunnel and the upward slope didn't make it any easier to move. She froze imperceptibly as Team 10 finally entered the training grounds and struggled quietly to reach the end. By the time she emerged into the sewer proper, her beautiful, and more importantly, expensive shirt was ripped in a few places and she couldn't stop tears of frustration from welling up.

 _ **KEEP ON WALKING, DAMN IT! DON'T LET THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE DO THIS TO US!**_ Inner's words rang through her head almost painfully, but they did the job. Sakura took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes before continuing through the maze of tunnels that she had long since memorized.

When she finally reached the end of the journey, it was to see a rusted ladder hidden within a small alcove. Originally, the trap door had refused to open, but curiosity kept Sakura coming back every day until it finally yielded. She honestly didn't know where the tunnel led and, thinking back on it, it had been a horrible idea, but her curiosity was rewarded.

She forcibly shook herself out of her memories and climbed the creaking ladder, praying it would hold her weight. When Sakura finally lifted the cover off the trap hole, she was rewarded by a cool breeze that brought the pure scent of running water. She pulled herself out and closed it carefully, making sure the stone markings over the cover lined up with similar scratches around the ground. When she had discovered it, she had been unable to find the cover for over an hour before she spotted found it again.

Sakura finally sat down, only half an hour after her ordeal, and took in the beauty that always filled her cave. In front of her eyes, an amazingly large waterfall poured down to the stones below. Small rainbows formed and disappeared just as quickly where the sunlight made its way through and the rippling patterns of green and blue that resulted filled the cave with light.

Thankfully, the cave was surprisingly dry, although incredibly loud, and the rough stone walls rubbed against her back as she leaned backwards. It was just large enough for her to lay down comfortably, with enough room above her head to stretch out her hands if she felt like it. The stone it shone darkly. She had never seen stone this color before she found her cave, but she had loved it immediately. It was almost as dark as his—

She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. _Sasuke-kun...Why...Why did you say that?_ She had done her very best to forget what had happened but... _He's right. Even that stupid Naruto worked harder than I did. And even though Ino-pig did the same things I did; she has a clan to back her up...I shouldn't have...I...should have focused more...Ino-pig has her family jutsu and what do I have? Nothing but book-smarts and that won't save me in a real fight._ Sakura forced her tears away, crying about it wouldn't help. Hadn't her teachers always said she had one of the most analytical minds of her year? _ **Think. We need to think.**_

Despite what everyone most likely believed, she had not become a kunoichi for Sasuke, although that definitely factored in her decision. She...had wanted to be more...more than her parents, merchants the both of them, more than a life on a caravan, selling to the highest bidder. _But...I failed. **Stop being so depressing!**_ She could almost see Inner slamming her fist into her palm. _**If you think you're weak, GET STRONGER!**_ Stronger. Training harder. Focusing better...Ignoring Sasuke... _Can I do this? I...don't want to let him go, but...If I get stronger...maybe Sasuke-kun will like me better. After all, he doesn't like weak girls, does he?_

In spite of all these thoughts running through her mind, Sakura's eyelids began to drift shut. The journey through the sewers and the events beforehand, as well as her crying, had begun to tire her out. Without realizing it, her eyes were closed and her head rested firmly on her knees. Thankfully, the cave was rather narrow, and the walls easily supported her tired body. The roaring of the waterfall grew dimmer, even as she quietly slipped into a restless slumber.


	2. Butterflies and Hurricanes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own either Muse or Naruto.
> 
>  
> 
> Change everything you are  
> And everything you were  
> Your number has been called

* * *

_T_ he smell woke her up. A thick, cloying, metallic scent that clung to her nostrils and made her gag. Sakura forced her eyes open even as she scooted back against the cave wall, bringing her knees to her chest cautiously. Her eyes still blurred from sleep, nevertheless she managed to focus on the dark figure standing stock still above her. 

 _I...must still be dreaming..._  It had grown dark while she'd slept and shadows hid his face, although the very faint moonlight filtering in allowed her to see his shape. She had begun to tremble as he continued to face her, trying to press herself even closer against the wall. The faint discoloration indicating the trap door mocked her, laying only a few feet away, right in front of the man who wavered slightly as he took a step forward.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she focused beyond her blind terror to take in the man in front of her. She couldn't make out his dark clothing, but he was obviously a shinobi if he had managed to get in. Even as Sakura registered his minute trembling, he brought a hand to his side as he fell silently to his knees.

  ** _DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!_**

Hesitantly, Sakura uncurled herself and inched towards him before jerking back as he suddenly collapsed on the ground.  ** _STAY WHERE YOU ARE!_** Sakura shook off Inner's words and stood, moving until she stood over him. She crouched down and carefully made certain he was unconscious.

Thankfully she still remembered her lessons although she couldn't help but hope he wasn't skilled enough to fake it. Sakura did her best to shift him onto his back, pulling and pushing until she scrambled back with a hastily stifled cry when her hand became covered in blood.  _What do I do? What am I supposed to do?!_

Sakura trembled and whimpered quietly in shock, rubbing her hand frantically against her dirtied skirt in a futile attempt to get the blood out. Pressed against the furthest wall, she shuddered and continued to mechanically wipe her hand on the tattered remains of her skirt. She had no idea what was happening around her and she could dimly hear Inner's shouts.

  ** _SNAP OUT OF IT!_**  The shout managed to shake off the worst of her shock and Sakura swallowed hard.  _I said..._ Sakura carefully looked over the shinobi and saw the dark spot spreading even as she watched. Her throat worked involuntarily when the smell of metallic blood rose to her position. Her stomach churned.  _I said...That I wanted to be stronger_. Sakura uncurled herself slowly, pushing back a muddied strand of pink hair from where it had fallen into her eyes.  _No matter how I look at this, this is a really bad idea. A strange shinobi appears bleeding heavily in a well hidden cave which is behind a waterfall that just happens to have a trap door leading to Konoha training grounds. I should hurry and report this._ Despite her thoughts, she knew what she was going to do.

Inner had apparently realized that they weren't going anywhere because she whispered encouragements from the back of Sakura's mind. Sakura crawled slowly to where she had left the man and forced herself to finish turning him over, cautious of his injured side. Through the moonlight filtering through the water she could barely see the jagged shape and torn skin through the flowing blood. She held back a gag and forced herself to look more closely.

Sakura hesitated for a moment. Finally, she gathered her courage and looked towards his face. He wore a mask. A bone white oval mask with dark colored stripes around it. Her mouth went dry. She looked him over frantically but could find no sign of village affiliation anywhere. Not only that, his body was definitely too small to be a full-grown man.

She blanched and her eyes darkened as she trembled in distress. **_So are you going to let him die in front of you, or will you actually do something?_**  Inner's surprisingly quiet response to her internal conflict startled her but Sakura remained where she knelt.

 Her mouth tightened and her fists clenched as she finally decided what to do. She shouldn't do it. But she couldn't let him bleed to death either, so Sakura leaned down and began to gently pry his shirt off of his injured side.

It was hard work, by this time the fabric felt like it had almost melded to his body and finally Sakura reached into her kunai pouch and delicately begin separating the material from his body. He jerked a bit forcing her to stop and freeze, holding her breath until she finally saw he wasn't waking up. She released her breath in a shuddering sigh. Despite her reservations, Sakura continued and finally managed to pull the shirt away from the man's chest.

Her stomach protested at the sight. Blood oozed from a deep gash across his chest and she realized she had nothing to bandage it with.  _This definitely needs stitches. Why didn't I ever bother to learn more than medical theory?_  Sakura's hands fluttered around the wound until she finally decided to turn the rest of his shirt into scraps and spent precious time trying to clean it under the pounding waterfall.

  _Medical jutsu can't be that difficult. You just need really good chakra control. And I've read all the basic theory behind them..._ Sakura took in the steadily bleeding gash and the pallor the shinobi's chest had taken on. 

 ** _JUST DO SOMETHING, IDIOT!_** Sakura took a deep breath before laying her hands on the worst part of the bleeding wound.

Sakura wasn't sure she could do this and anxiety made her hands shake lightly against the shinobi's chest as sweat beaded on her brow. Closing her eyes, she reached for her chakra, instinctively feeling for the correct amount. She shifted it, pushing and pulling until she was finally able to coat her palms with a flickering green light. His flesh felt heated against her cool hands and she had to force herself to focus.

Minutes blurred together, then hours, Sakura did the best she could but her mind had long since gone blank, with only the vaguest notion of the passing time.  ** _THAT'S ENOUGH!_**  Inner's sudden bellow after hours of silence shook Sakura out of the trance she had fallen into, causing her chakra to cut off abruptly. The sudden stop sent a shock through her system and Sakura swooned slightly as she leaned on the shinobi's chest. His chest.

She jerked back, snatching her hands off his chest and stared at the angry red scar that stretched jaggedly from his left shoulder to his right hip. _How long...How long has it been?_  From her position, Sakura could see sunlight filtering through the pounding water, allowing her to finally see the shinobi she had spent so much energy trying to heal.

The sight of the swirls that signified a member of the ANBU on his left shoulder filled her weary mind with an intense relief. She had gambled on it being a Konoha shinobi, knowing entirely too well the penalty if he wasn't.

She caught site of the ragged scar again.  _Did I do that?... I didn't... think I had enough chakra to do more than stop the bleeding._ Her mind fuzzy from exhaustion, she had trouble bringing herself to really care and instead of continuing that line of thought, concentrated on taking in the Konoha shinobi now that it was light enough to actually see him.

His age struck her first. Although his body was well muscled—Sakura was far past the point of blushing by now—he couldn't be much older than she was. He definitely had not gone through puberty or was just entering it.

He had worn what seemed to be the standard ANBU uniform, although she had never seen his kind of mask before. It was a pure white oval decorated only with stripes as red as blood curving from the forehead to the where the cheekbones should be. He still had weapon pouches strapped to his legs, along with closed scrolls and what looked like the point of a calligraphy brush poking out the a smaller pouch near the scrolls. Sakura took this all in through a muddled haze, forcing herself to blink rapidly to keep the darkness at bay.

She shirted, leaning a hand on the ground next to the man—boy's—head in order to support herself, letting her hand hover hesitantly over the odd mask while trying to will away the encroaching darkness creeping into her peripheral vision.  _He's ANBU...They hide their identities for a reason.. **.But we deserve to see the person we spent ALL NIGHT healing!**_ Sakura winced at the pounding headache the small debate caused and finally threw caution to the wind.  _It's not like I've been very cautious lately anyway. Besides...I need to....see him..._ Even her thoughts were growing dim and she could barely hear Inner anymore.

She reached down and placed her hand firmly on the bottom of the mask. Taking a deep breath and ignoring her aching body, she began to tug lightly. Trying to shake away her fatigue, she caught her first glimpse of a pale chin and—

A firm hand grasped her thin wrist painfully, grinding the bones together and causing Sakura to let out a frightened cry. She jerked back, managing to tear her wrist from his grasp, throwing herself backwards only for her already throbbing head to make a sickening crack against the stone wall.

The last thing she saw was the strange shinobi pulling himself into a sitting position and adjusting his mask before her vision flared white then darkened as she finally collapsed.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 8/18/13
> 
> Somehow...I think this is just too short...Or not enough dialogue, i.e. no dialogue....Probably both though.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading. Update should be this week!
> 
> -Sin


	3. Hysteria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **It's bugging me, grating me  
> **   
> **And twisting me around**
> 
>  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I don't own Naruto or Muse. I'm horrible at updating and I'm really mean to my playthings....characters....

"Sakura!"  


Sakura groaned and rolled over, pulling her covers over her head and curling up. Her tongue stuck unpleasantly to the roof of her dry mouth and she blindly reached over and groped for the canteen she always left at her bedside.  


"GET UP!"  


She groaned again as her mother's shout surprised her enough to spill the water all over her nightgown. Rolling out of bed, she shuffled over to her closet, stifling an escaping yawn. She had a pounding headache and a cold sweat had broken out in the time it took her to take out her regular outfit. Wondering vaguely if the way she felt would match up to a hangover, Sakura changed sluggishly and pulled her hitai-ate out of a folded stack of dirty clothes next to her bed, tying it firmly.  


"ARE YOU UP YET?"  


"I'M UP!"  


Sakura paused. When did I get back? She looked back to the innocuous pile of folded clothes, gingerly lifting a tattered dirty thing that possessed little resemblance to the beautiful shirt she had worn the day before. A mortified flush bloomed on her cheeks when she picked up what might have been a skirt to see her dirty underwear. Oh, please let Mom have changed me! The thought of her father changing her and -- she paused to sniff under her arms -- and bathing her was too embarrassing to entertain!  


As if summoned by her thoughts, a quiet knock at her door came before her father called though the door. "Sakura, I'm sorry Mom and I came home late last night." He paused as if to judge her reaction.  


"I know we promised to go out for dinner to celebrate but something came up, I promise we'll make it up to you when the caravan returns... "  


"It's ok, Daddy." Sakura could hear herself speaking only distantly. "I don't mind celebrating later. I hope you and Mom have a good trip."  
Her father said something but she didn't even hear him. Someone had been in her room. Someone had stripped her and bathed her and dressed her while she slept.  


Her breath came in little gasps now and sickeningly warm bile rose to burn at the back of her throat but no--this was no time for freaking out. Swallowing roughly and taking a deep breath, Sakura glanced at the clock which indicated she only had fifteen minutes to get to her first team meeting! Sakura resolutely put the incident out of her mind and began preparing her supplies. But---No, I can't be late.  


She would just pretend it never happened. Just--just pretend for a little while longer.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura shuffled out of the house, cramming the remains of a ration bar in her mouth even as she attempted to tie her hitai-ate one handed. Finally, she somehow managed to crookedly tie it, leaving her hands free to dig into an equipment pouch wrapped around her upper thigh, emerging with a second high- protein ration bar. Her exhaustion felt bone deep, second only to her ravenous hunger.  


If anything, she slowed down, eying the ration bar with a sickening mixture of yearning and disdain. _ **...eat ...it...**_ Inner's voice seemed to echo through Sakura's mind. _Inner? Are you alright?_ The only reply was a sudden spike of hunger that had her downing the bar before she even realized what she'd done.  


The looming specter of her morning realization still hovered over her mind but she shoved it down again. This was the first time Inner had spoken this morning. Sakura had never really noticed before how much Inner's voice comforted her until now. Now Inner's voice was distorted and far away. Now a chill crept down her spine.  


_Inner?_ This time nothing but a faint feeling of tiredness reached her from the depths of her mind.  


Sakura was very well read. While she hadn't exactly trained as much as she should have, there was no denying that she had absorbed as much information as humanely possible. Therefore, the condition that fit the symptoms...was chakra exhaustion. _Which shouldn't even be possible since I haven't used any since graduating!!!! **...F...o...r...g...o...t...**  
_

Sakura abruptly ducked into one of the many alleyways littering Konoha to crouch down against a wall, leaning her elbows on her knees and pressing the heel of her hands against her eyes until spots of light bloomed beneath her lids. Inner's reply to her frustrated thought had come as an impression . The thought of having forgotten something important. Something vital. Something...  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


The white cup had dozens of little green kunai decorating the edge and steam rose in hypnotic swirls from the lightly fragrant green tea. The swirls seemed almost alive as the cup tumbled from her slack fingers to shatter on the tiles of the kitchen floor.  


Sakura's unfocused green eyes sharpened suddenly, as though the crash had awakened her and she cried out, backing away from the spreading tea. Spinning around anxiously, nothing but her same old kitchen greeted her eyes.  


_THE MEETING!!!_ With a sudden burst of energy, Sakura left behind the shattered cup and threw herself out the door, eyes tearing up from the last rays of the setting sun.  


_?_  


Sakura tripped.  


"WATCH IT, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" The skinny old man Sakura had almost run into shook his fist at her, passing an age spotted hand over his thinning white hair and continued walking, muttering under his breath.  


_Nakashima-san? But he only passes by after he closes his stall...?_ And she was damn positive because as soon as she was old enough to walk, Sakura knew to be in her house before 1830 or after 1900. Nakashima-san was one of the kind of folk who hated people and didn't care who knew it. He somehow managed a very successful jewelry stall, probably because he bullied people into buying an expensive trinket every time they passed.  


And...there was no more use stalling. Rubbing her nose gently, she trudged back into her house and began cleaning up the spilled tea. The familiar motions of cleaning were monotonous, soothing in their own way and absolutely useless in distracting her sharp mind. Because Sakura knew herself. And knew her mind. And while her memory might not be eidetic, it was still amazing.  


The last thing she remembered was her miniature breakdown in one of the alleys by the training ground an hour or so past dawn. Inner's trouble answering her queries. Her mysterious case of chakra exhaustion. A small whimper escaped her before she ruthless clamped down on her emotions. Because she also remembered waking up freshly showered in her own bed after falling asleep in her little cave under Konoha.  


Sakura noted absently that she had finished cleaning and she stopped in front of the tiny and somehow pitiful pile of ceramic shards she had just scooped onto the kitchen table, gripping the back of her chair with clenched hands.  


Bowing her head, Sakura spread out her hands and read the story through the screen of her long lashes. She read it in her scraped knuckles, the tiny cut on the second joint of the ring finger on her right hand, the dirt and grass beneath her nails, and the tiny splinter of wood that had somehow worked its way into the webbing between the thumb and pointer finger of her left hand.  


_Inner?_ A tear splashed silently on the back of her hand followed by another and another and another, sliding down her fingers to fall onto the back of the wooden chair.

 

_I'm scared._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to work on chapters everyday, even if only a little bit at a time. I've actually rewritten this chapter several times and the end version is completely different from the first version!
> 
> Anywho, thanks for waiting!
> 
> -Sin


End file.
